Spinal fusion

[Rocketman]

I've had a bad disk in between L4-L5 for what - 20 years now and I'm finally going under the knife next week for a little spinal fusion. (That's not a music style either. ARK!)

Two questions:

1. Anyone else had this surgery where they fuse two of your vertabrae?

2. Anyone ever gotten the artificial disk instead?

I'm nervous but looking forward to relief.

 

[TruWrecks]

Have you explored the pros and cons for both?

Fusion
Pros: You'll never have problems with the L4-L5 joint disc again. Your lower back will be able to support more weight without as much discomfort. You have less risk of getting arthritic wear in that joint.

Cons: Fusing vertibrae will put more pressure on the discs above and below the fused joint. That means less flexibility, and a higher chance of damaging the L3-L4 and L5-S1 discs. If you continue an active lifestyle, you'll be more likely to have problems with those discs.

Disc Replacement
Pros: Maintain flexibility of your lower back. Reduced chance of re-rupturing the replaced disc. Overall better comfort after healing.

Cons: Not as durable as a healthy disc, or fusion. Synthetic discs have been known to bulge, and put pressure on the nerves of the spinal cord.

These are the pros and cons that I'm aware of, and most concerned with. I will probably have to go that route someday, too.

Godspeed in whatever choice you make. It will still be better than suffering with a bad lumbar disc.

 

[SAMBUSA]

Had L5-S1 fused in February of this year. Starting back to work this monday. I have never felt better. Disc replacement wasnt an option for me because the problem wasnt the disc but the vertebrae. The disc was torn up because my vertebrae was all jacked up.

Couple things that I didn't like while in the hospital. First, when I came to, I was extremely dehydrated. Second, I couldn't feel my legs. Kinda freaky. It was because I was on my stomach for 8hrs during surgery. Feeling came back slowly. I was home before I had full feeling in both legs. Lastly, when they take the tube out of your wang, hold on to something. It burns like hell.

Remember, Morphine is your friend. I couldn't have gone thru it without my wife helping me. She was a lifesaver.

Before the surgery, I took Vicodin 750 a couple times per day. Post surgery, I havent had to take any pain killers since being out of the hospital

Here is a pic

 

[BlondeOnaBusa]

I had C5&6, 6&7 fused together back in 1999. It was the best thing I had ever done. I had ruptured one disk and the other was bulging. I have no regrets in having it done but as you know there are some sever risk with this surgery.
Before the surgery it felt like someone had taken a sledge hammer and smashed my elbow. It hurt 24/7. The pain pills only took the edge off but I never got complete relief until the surgery. I couldn't sleep, eat or for that matter function. It was either gonna kill me or drive me insane!
After the surgery it took about 2 months before I saw any kind of improvement. I had some nerve damage from it being compressed for so long but I can tell you I feel so much better now than I did then.  I do wake up in the mornings and have to work the kinks out, don't know if that's due to my age or the fusion's...LOL.
I wish you the best of luck and I know you will get some relief from this. Take it easy and let us know how your doing!



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[TALYN]

I ruptured L4 and L5 a few years back power lifting, the doc did not want to operate as he said I had enough muscle structure to support the area and told me I was too young for fusion surgery, I was 32 at the time, I have kept lifting, fighting, etc and other than a few down days on ice I still drive on.... 41 now

 

[Rocketman]

Just read your posts guys... thanks a ton. Read them to my wifey as well. These were very encouraging. I don't know why everyone has been telling me - 'Stay away from the surgery!!!' Everyone that has had it has said - they got their lives back.

I hurt this disk at a young age. Have been an avid weightlifter, skiier, hiker, swimmer, for 28 years. This disk has needed something for the last 10 years. So - I'm looking forward to this.

I did re-schedule so I could go to the AMA Superbike races next weekend though. That really pissed my wifey off... but I've been waiting about 5 years to see one - so I'm going to that first - then on to the operating room.

I'll post the results. Can't wait to ride without the pain!! Thanks for the info guys.

I still like the AD option, but don't think I'll go there this time. Sounds like it's not quite perfected. If anyone can convince me otherwise, I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks!!

 

[silverfreak]

I had L4 and 5s1 done in march. and i have never felt better since my accident 4 years ago.but there is alot of truth to other discs wearing out above the fused section.i go to see my surgeon on the 14th of june for another evaluation on my L3 disc because of pain starting in that area.he thinks the rehab+work conditioning was to hard on an already herniated disc that he did not think was bad enough at the time to do the surgery on. Good luck in your decisions.

 

[Rocketman]

These xRays - are awesome. Thanks!

Interesting feedback from everyone.  I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but the Dr. stated that I have the spine of a 20 yr. old.  Should I take that as a good thing regarding the other disks becoming problematic?

That was the reason I was trying to figure out if an Artificial Disk (AD) would be a better way to go or not.  Right now - feels like 6's in terms of which way to go.

My surgeon specializes in the AD, so I feel comfortable with him being sucessful.  BUT - the AD is new in the US market - not the world market. So I really don't have a feel for how long it should last though the manufacturer claims 40 years or something like that.

Any thoughts on that in terms of world experience with the AD?

And thanks everyone for your input... really.



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[thrasherfox]

I have not had any back surgery so I am not help there.

However when it comes to surgery in general I can share my story briefly


I had a torn rotator cuff.. I tore it a few years ago. I thought I let it heal.. but to be honest I never really stopped lifting weights totally.. I just did lower weight.


Things were not to bad, I was back to benching up to 330 for 3 reps, then about a year ago I screwed it up again..

Really bad this time... I tried to lift light weights but it still hurt, couldn’t even sleep at night very well because no matter how I laid down I was in pain..

I was going to have rotator surgery... talked to a few people, I had the surgery all lined up, and a week before the surgery I canceled..

I was not totally 100% convinced I wanted the surgery, I kept hearing pros and cons. And I didn’t like the fact they were going to grind away part of my shoulder…

I had one girl at work tell me something, very simple, but it hit home.

She said “if you are not 100% convinced you should have the surgery then you shouldn’t get itâ€￾


For my situation, I stopped lifting totally for about 3 months. It is feeling great and I am able to start lifting again without pain.


My rotator cuff is a totally different situation than your back problems. My problem there was always a chanced of it healing, from what I know of back problems I am guessing you don’t have that same option (it will heal on its own eventually)

But the point I wanted to make is, make sure you are 100% committed to it before you do it..

 

[TruWrecks]

Good point T-Fox.

I had my L4-5 trimmed when it was painful to eat, sleep, sit, stand, roll-over, breathe, cough, twist, yawn, wakeup, bend over, move my foot, and just about eveything else. It pretty much hurt to exists, and the heavy meds didn't really take the edge off anymore. I was 100% certain, that even a chance of having after-surgery issues, was better than being in pain 24hrs a day with no way to get relief.

There's also a chance of the surgery going very wrong, but with the improvement in techniques that's pretty minimal. It should all go very well. You'll need to do your part by doing EVERYTHING they want you to do before surgery.

BTW... The material that makes up the disc wall quits growing when we reach our adult stage. After that the blood flow to the discs starts to deminish greatly. If it becomes herniated, or ruptured, it will not heal. If it's putting pressure on a nerve, and it doesn't get corrected, it will eventually cause nerve damage. Nerves do heal, but it takes a really long time. If the pressure continues over a very long time it can cause permanent damage (damage that won't heal for a very long time) to the nerve tissue.

So, weigh the pros and cons, and decide if the discomfort is more than you could live with, then make a choice. It's no minor thing, but it could really help.

Godspeed.

 

[Rocketman]

Excellent advice. I'm 100% sure. This is no life and it's not changing after 3 months of constant pain. It's been almost 30 years actually. I injured the disk when I was 13 and it's been downhill ever since.

I am excited to just get rid of the constant pain. I'll post the results in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again guys.

 

[VaBusa]

Best of luck to you! Keep us posted...I haven't gotten to that point yet, but I did have back surgery last August that's been fairly successful (herniated disc)...I say fairly because the pain still seems to be around, so I stand guarded that I may have more surgery in my future if it deteriorates again...

Take care of yourself and heal fast!

 

[Rocketman]

VaBusa - - did they just trim that disc (discectomy right?) or put in a the screws and such?

Hope you feel better. I do have a remarkable machine that takes pain away like crazy. (Yes - the busa is a machine, but not this time.)

It's made by Nikken. It's an infrared device that repairs/rejuvenates muscles, ligaments, tissues, etc. I've been using it for a week. I can't believe how livable life is using this stupid light machine every night.

They're pretty reasonable too - like $250 or something. I can post information for anyone. My neighbor works for that company and brought me a freebie to try out. WOW! It actually works. Major drop in pain and losened me right up.

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[VaBusa]

VaBusa - - did they just trim that disc (discectomy right?) or put in a the screws and such?

Hope you feel better. I do have a remarkable machine that takes pain away like crazy.  (Yes - the busa is a machine, but not this time.)

It's made by Nikken.  It's an infrared device that repairs/rejuvenates muscles, ligaments, tissues, etc.  I've been using it for a week.  I can't believe how livable life is using this stupid light machine every night.  

They're pretty reasonable too - like $250 or something.  I can post information for anyone.  My neighbor works for that company and brought me a freebie to try out.  WOW!  It actually works.  Major drop in pain and losened me right up.

The doc just trimmed the disc that was pressing on my nerves; that was pain I'd endured for over 3 years before it finally got unbearable...only took 3 doctors to get something done

I would love a link to that device...I'm very interested in it...hubby's got major back issues as well, so it would be $250 well spent in our household...

 

[thrasherfox]

VaBusa - - did they just trim that disc (discectomy right?) or put in a the screws and such?

Hope you feel better. I do have a remarkable machine that takes pain away like crazy.  (Yes - the busa is a machine, but not this time.)

It's made by Nikken.  It's an infrared device that repairs/rejuvenates muscles, ligaments, tissues, etc.  I've been using it for a week.  I can't believe how livable life is using this stupid light machine every night.  

They're pretty reasonable too - like $250 or something.  I can post information for anyone.  My neighbor works for that company and brought me a freebie to try out.  WOW!  It actually works.  Major drop in pain and losened me right up.

The doc just trimmed the disc that was pressing on my nerves; that was pain I'd endured for over 3 years before it finally got unbearable...only took 3 doctors to get something done

I would love a link to that device...I'm very interested in it...hubby's got major back issues as well, so it would be $250 well spent in our household...

I want one!!!!

 

[VaBusa]

Yeah, me too! Shawn needs to hook us up Ron

 

[busaexpress]

I had a discectomy in May. I was back on the Busa in 3 weeks. I had the problem and pain over 10 years. It was the best thing I've done. I'm still not 100%, but the pain is mostly gone and seem better each day. Do it, the pain is not worth it...............God speed on the recovery.

 

[Rocketman]

I'll check with my neighbor tonight and see if he's in town. ...he works in San Jose. I'll post as soon as I know the info.

 

[thrasherfox]

I'll check with my neighbor tonight and see if he's in town.  ...he works in San Jose.  I'll post as soon as I know the info.

I am like 3 hours from San Jose!!

 

[Over_Easy]

Sit up straight everyone...come on now, head up, chest out...think TALL.

Seriously though, bad posture (in conjuntion with a big gut) puts enormous strain on your back. I catch myself slouching throughout the day. BTW, what are your stats (height/weight)?

Just make sure it is your last resort. Try everything else first (hypnotism, yoga, meditation, massages, and any other stress relieving activities) and then if nothing works consider having the surgery. I know several people who have had neck/back surgery and a few have had side effects like burning feet and numbing areas. The CNS is a very touchy thing. But many were successful from when the last time I had seen them.

And for a few of you stop trying to break weight lifting records. I work out on/off myself and I know 330 lbs. isn't light weight. I try to stick with 235 for about 7-10 reps depending how worn out I am from work that day. That's as heavy as I need to go.